A rival clan is forming!

I've been chipping away at all sorts of bits and pieces recently - one of the projects is a rival clan for games of Test of Honour (etc).  These are all from the Perry Miniature Samurai range and at most needed their sashimono and yari attaching.

First up, the Samurai to lead the force:

Very dynamic poses as you can see - as this will be my wife's force she picked the minis from the pack that she wanted to use 😀

I tried to make this a mirror of my own force options-wise - so added a bannerman and a conch blower:

I also added the three 'sergeant' types - one each for spears, archers and arquebusiers:

And finally for now, some yari-armed troops.  For these I didn't use the metal spears provided by Perry, I used some plastic spears from a freebie sprue of ashigaru that came with Wargames Illustrated:

I'll show the missile-armed troops soon (ish) - but I'm happy to have finally got the 'other' side of this project underway!

Perry ACW Confederate Skirmishers

I needed a little something to add to my Confederate army for this special project to balance the sides - I decided on another unit of Skirmishers (I do like skirmishers!).

I went for the Confederate Infantry in Shell Jackets Skirmishing (say that three times quickly!):

Really nice minis (as you'd expect from the Perrys) - they certainly look like a rugged group!

Perry Miniatures - Town People and Villagers

I've prepped a couple of packs of civilians for games of Daishо̄/Ronin/Test of Honour - both from the Perry Miniatures samurai range.

First up the Town People pack - 7 minis in total (the Perry website is a little misleading here - the child it refers to is a single piece casting holding the hand of, presumably, his mother).  Here's an old man, a traveller with a staff and hat, and a chap running (the implement? he is holding needed to be glued into place):

The rest of the pack is made up of a child with mother, a nicely dressed woman, a chap with a shouldered sword and a porter:

I also got the Villager pack.  This actually includes 8 minis.  First up a particularly obstinate child, a pointing woman (presumably trying to tell the kid to do something!), a Komusо̄ and a woman taking a break:

And finishing off the civilians - a worker carrying a basket, a worker leaning on a shovel, a worker swinging a pick and a sitting chap taking it easy:

The minis are all the high quality we all know and expect from the Perrys - average amounts of flash but nothing major to clean up. The porter from the Town People pack did need some gentle bending of the basket on the pole which was a little nerve wracking but I managed it!

These minis will really bring games to life - potentially inspiring some special scenarios (that Komusо̄ in particular seems to be begging for some rules!).

Perry ACW Union Skirmishers

Back on my birthday I received a very thoughtful and kind present from Trials of a Casual Wargamer - a pack of Perry Miniatures Union Infantry in Sack Coats Skirmishing! Well, although the brain gremlins have been giving me a bit of a kicking since then, I finally whipped them into line for a bit and got some hobby done - including prepping these Skirmishers for priming (well... weather permitting one day!):

These are a superb addition to the Perry ACW collection - lots of lovely character in these chaps, with a nice mix of poses included to really mark them out from their line infantry comrades.  It's got me thinking about what to add to the Confederate side now, a sure sign of capturing the imagination on the project once more!

Happy Birthday to me...

So it's my birthday - another trip around the sun endured.

But I mustn't complain - thanks to thoughtful people in my life I got to open some gaming related presents this morning! 

First, from Trials of a Casual Wargamer - a pack of Perry Miniatures ACW metals, skirmishing Union soldiers to be precise.  Lovely sculpts (as you'd expect from the Perrys) and I really do love a unit of skirmishers!

Looking forward to adding these to my Universe of Battle project 😀

And from my wife, a few packs of bases from Antenocitis Workshop...

Hex Bases (with some Arena Hex so not everyone is stood on a curb or manhole) 25mm, 40mm and 55mm - this little lot should give me enough bases not just for the Infinity collection, but also the minis I have set aside for Reality's Edge/Hardwired - guess I'd better get the marigolds on and get the 'wargamer washing up' on!

Nagai Yasunari and friends

Back when Test of Honour was first a thing I got the starter set - but wasn't keen on the style of the plastics, so instead I put together a force from almost entirely Perry Miniatures wonderful Samurai range. 

Now, a while later and as we have an organise/clear out of our house I've found the force (one chap did make a guest appearance on the blog posing a little while back, see if you recognise any of them!) so thought I'd share them here as the mood strikes me.

Before I start, I feel I should make it absolutely clear that I paint my samurai and the likes as though they are in a Sengoku Musō game - colourful and without particular regard for historical accuracy of any kind! I'm really not sure why I thought circles would make good heraldry though 😅

That out of the way, what better way to start this series of posts than with the samurai to head up the force - and the leader is Nagai Yasunari:

He counts two boon companions - first Yamashita Takeshi, strong and true:

And Ishiwatari Kazunobu, a wily older warrior and mentor to Yasunari:

Finally for the samurai, and the only non-Perry miniature (it's the armourless samurai from Warlord that was part of the original Test of Honour pack - now found in a Warlords of Erehwon set I believe), Yasunari is sometimes joined by a master swordsman who eschews the use of armour; Amisaki Hyotaru:

I'll share more from this force when I've had time to check them over and photograph them - if you love blue clothes and armour you'll surely enjoy this project 😂

The Universe of Battle - Confederates

As well as The Union side of my special project, I've also been at work on the Confederate side.  These are, once again, all from Perry Miniatures American Civil War range.

First up, a unit of Line Infantry - these are made up of packs ACW84 and ACW85.  These will be from Virginia (with colours from Flags of War):

Next, Shock Infantry (Aggressive) - these are packs ACW37 and ACW38.  These will be Louisiana Tigers:

Here is a unit of Skirmishers (Good Shooters) - pack ACW113:

And another unit of Skirmishers (Good Shooters) - pack ACW118 this time:

Finally a unit of Light Cavalry (Aggressive) - packs ACW95 and ACW96:

I'm looking forward to getting on with this project - although when things start to return to normal I need to get some suitable scenery!

Naffatun Mercenaries

Since I first picked up Outremer I had ideas of introducing a Naffatun mercenary option - these fire troops are too interesting to leave out!

I wasn't sure whether to go for Bomb or Syphon options, but when I was gifted a pack of Perry Miniatures Naffatun I didn't have to choose - so I'm planning one of each in the collection! I picked my favourite two out of the pack - but of course with Perry, they were all good!

Salim al-Sarrah (left) and Qabisah ibn Masruq (right)

I'm working on rules that I'll share when a draft is ready!

The Universe of Battle - The Union

As readers of previous posts might recall, I had planned a special tribute project to my late father.  So, I sorted out lists of minis I needed to make it a reality and placed an order with Perry Miniatures.

I'll run through what I've got - first up the Union side of the project.

First up some Line Infantry (Veteran) - made up of packs ACW82 and ACW83 - I'm fielding these as an Irish Brigade:

Next, another Line Infantry (Veteran) - this time packs ACW33 and ACW19 - I'll be using these to represent the Garibaldi Guard:

Next up some Skirmishers (Sharpshooters) - pack ACW86:

Finally for the Union side - Medium Artillery - pack ACW17:

As always with Perry Miniatures, the quality is superb - characterful sculpts with minimal clean-up required.  As you can see in the pictures above I've used the hybrid basing - I've done this a lot with Rampant style games from the Osprey line for ease of gaming.

The Universe of Battle - Prologue

This week we said goodbye to my dad. He’d suffered with ill health for a long time, but this most recent hospital admission was one too many. He passed peacefully surrounded by the people he loved.

Without my dad I do not believe I would be the gamer I am today. Growing up surrounded by Tolkien books, Star Wars films, boardgames and the Atari 2600; fantasy worlds and gaming was always part of my life. And I’m thankful for that more than I can express.

However, I have a regret. For a while I had planned to put together two small skirmish forces to play a game with my dad once they had operated on his cataracts. Unfortunately, due to one health issue or another, they were never able to operate, so my plan never came to pass.

So instead, I am going to honour my dad by doing this whole project from start to finish and playing a game with my mom.

I have vivid memories of my dad watching The Civil War documentary series (the Ken Burns one) back in the day so had planned to put together an ACW game – so that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve taken the name that I’ll use for posts relating to this project from that series as a little nod to the source.

I’ve settled on Rebels and Patriots for the ruleset as it won’t need too many minis. I’d considered using the Perry Miniatures Battle in a Box for the miniatures, but, having read some reviews of the contents (as awesome as they are), they didn’t fit my vision for the forces I wanted so wouldn’t work.

Instead I’ll be picking individual packs from the Perry Miniatures metal ACW line. I love Perry metals and have used them across a few other systems already, they are one of my go to providers for historical skirmish games.

So, first up the Union side:

Line Infantry (Veteran) – 6 points
Line Infantry (Veteran) – 6 points
Skirmishers (Sharpshooters) – 6 points
Medium Artillery – 6 points
24 points total

Then the Confederates:

Line Infantry – 4 points
Shock Infantry (Aggressive) – 7 points
Light Cavalry (Aggressive) – 5 points
Skirmishers (Good Shooters) – 4 points
Skirmishers (Good Shooters) – 4 points
24 points total

I’m planning to get the standards for the units that have them from Flags of War, which should set them off nicely!

I’ll also pick up a couple of scenery elements for the project – that Perry farmhouse kit looks rather nice...

Watch this space!

Forlorn Hope and Commanded Shot

I knew I wanted to pick up the Perry Miniatures Dragoons/Forlorn Hope Skirmishing pack to use as a unit of Forlorn Hope (or Commanded Shot depending on how I feel).  I've called these the Men of Ardachrinn:

The chap in the foreground will be Emann Fitzgerald - should I choose to add a Hero to this unit, he's the man!

I also had enough Irish Brigade musketeers left over to make another unit of Forlorn Hope/Commanded Shot.  I deliberately picked the rock throwing and assaulting miniatures to give them a different look to the Regiment of Foote.  I've called this feisty band the O'Neill Brothers:

The guy on the right all set to bean someone with his musket stock is Cormac O'Neill - the self-proclaimed leader of this band of brothers.

Dragoons and Tóraidhe

I knew I wanted some cavalry elements for MacSweeney's Company and found some great miniatures for a couple of options.  First up are The Carrygalt Dragoons - a useful troop type to have access to:

Like the other units I have for The Pikeman's Lament, the named guy in this unit is Ardal Browne and he's the mounted chap with the dapper hat.  These are from Bicorne Miniatures and are their Dragoon Horse Holders & Command Set 2.

Next up are the Letterkenny Tóraidhe which I can use to represent Gallopers or Trotters in the rules:

The sword-waving fellow (of course) is the named chap and he is Conall MacCraith.  These minis are form Perry Miniatures and they are Moss Troopers in their catalogue (the standard and command packs shown here).

My plans for MacSweeney's Company

I've had my copy of The Pikeman's Lament (TPL) from Osprey Wargames for a while and went back and forth on a theme.  I contemplated a Montrose company - but decided to go with an Irish Confederation theme (which, overall could very easily represent an Irish Brigade element of Montrose's forces anyway...).

I've been playing with lists and have come up with a "to buy" list - the starting point is, of course, the Montrose Irish box set from Warlord. Now, I have a feeling I'll be getting this from my folks for my fast approaching birthday:

From this I will get my Officer, which is a requirement of any TPL force - I've taken inspiration from an officer from County Donegal (one of my ancestral homes) by the name of Myles MacSweeney.  I rolled a 9 for his background which makes him a Duellist; harder to hit in challenges and a boost to his honour at the start.  Not too bad!

From this box (and with a few extra minis) I intend to make a regiment each of Shot and Pike - these will together represent MacSweeney's Regiment of Foote.  These will be led by a Hero that I'll call William Cullin, MacSweeney's right hand man.

There will be enough musketeers left to also form a unit of Commanded Shot - these could represent a foot group of skilled tóraidhe.  I'll call them The O'Neill Brothers. I'll add a Hero to these - Cormac O'Neill (presumably the eldest, or just toughest of the brothers!).

I knew I wanted some Horse - Perry Miniatures is one of my favourite miniatures companies and they don't disappoint.  I've got my eye on the Moss Troopers in their ECW range:

These can be used as either Gallopers or Trotters in TPL. I plan to use them as a cavalry band of tóraidhe, so I'll call them The Letterkenny Tóraidhe.  Of course, if I transplant the force over to campaign in Scotland these can just as easily represent Moss Troopers that have joined up with the Irish Brigade against the Parliamentarians.

I'm also planning on getting a pack of the Perry Miniatures Forlorn Hope/Dragoons Skirmishing:

These provide me with (naturally enough) a Forlorn Hope unit.  I'll call these the Men of Ardachrinn. These will be a group of elite muskets - perhaps as a personal bodyguard for Myles MacSweeney!

I'm also going to pick up a box of the Firelock Storming Party - mostly for the Captain miniature, which I love; he'll become one of my Heroes above (either William or Cormac as he's probably not quite fancy enough to be Myles).

 However, it would be rude not to also make use of the dynamic pistol shooting drummer (who will find a home in the Shot regiment of foote).

Finally, I plan on getting some Highlanders - these will work well if MacSweeney's Company is used as a Montrose force, but if used as a Confederate force they will be a fine example of the many Highlander mercenaries that found employ in Ireland.  Here's the Warlord games minis I'm planning to get:

I'll use them as a Forlorn Hope with the Aggressive upgrade to represent these Lochaber axe swinging warriors - I'll call them The MacDonald Redshanks as a nod to the historic redshanks mercenaries.

I also found a new to me miniature company - Bicorne Miniatures.  I'm planning on picking up some of their Highlanders with swords and shields to use as a group of Clansmen:

Again, these will represent a redshanks mercenary band - or will very easily work if MacSweeney takes his company over to assist the cause in Scotland.  I'll call them The MacLeod Redshanks.

I'm also toying with the idea of adding a unit of Dragoons to the Company - not sure if I'll go with Perry or Bicorne for those.  If I get some, I'll name them The Carrygalt Dragoons.

These will give me plenty of options to pick my list from on any given occasion - and will allow me to use MacSweeney's Company in Ireland- or Scotland-based battles without too much of a stretch.

Looking forward to chipping away at getting these minis in hand!